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Ex-baseball great Gooden stops at Harbor Yard for some baseball talk

BRIDGEPORT -- Dwight Gooden began playing organized baseball when he was 8. He was a shy kid who loved the game and ultimately became one of the most accomplished pitchers in major league history."

Gooden was a four-time National League All-Star with the New York Mets. He was a three-time World Series champion. He was named the National League Rookie of the Year in 1984 and won the league Cy Young Award in 1985.

Now retired, Gooden said he enjoys giving back to the fans who cheered for him throughout his 16-year career. His latest stop was at Harbor Yard Sunday to benefit the Wakeman Boys & Girls Club.

"It's a lot of fun because as a former player when you're playing and you're on the field everything is so quick," Gooden said. "You sign an autograph quick. You take a picture. You wave. But then if it's like this, you can take your time. So I really enjoy it because as a player without the fans you couldn't get the joy and enjoy the game you love."

Gooden, joined by his 28-year-old son Dwight Jr., shared a hug and a conversation with Bluefish manager Willie Upshaw in the dugout prior to the series finale against the Lancaster Barnstormers. Gooden then threw out the first pitch and chatted with members of the Bluefish on the field before heading to the Harbor Club for a question-and-answer session with about 40 fans.

Gooden, 49, said that the toughest hitter he faced during his career was Chili Davis; the best batterymate he had was Gary Carter; his favorite ballparks were Shea Stadium, old Yankee Stadium and Dodgers Stadium; and his favorite memory as a player was throwing a no-hitter as a member of the New York Yankees against the Seattle Mariners May 14, 1996, with his father hospitalized and severely ill. That would be the final game his father saw him pitch before he died.

"You don't know the lasting impression you leave on a kid just by having a conversation or like the one kid I was showing how to throw a curveball," Gooden said. "That type of stuff, I love it. There's nothing better than seeing a smile on a kid's face."

"What a great pitcher," Upshaw said. "When you think about him, you think about just electric stuff. I faced him in spring training, so I saw it firsthand. Just electric stuff. His curveball was just devastating and so was his fastball. The way he attacked hitters was just tremendous. Like some of the young guys today, his stuff was really off the charts. It was good for the game."

Gooden now does public relations work with the Mets and Yankees and serves as a spokesman for PinkTie.org., a real estate-based organization dedicated to heightening the awareness of breast cancer, and is involved with other charitable foundations, as well.

Gooden, who has battled substance-abuse issues and spent nearly seven months in jail in 2006 for violation of probation, also travels to high schools and colleges around the country telling his story.

``It's about giving others second chances, whatever they may be," Gooden said. "Trying to inspire those who may be going through the struggles that I went through or may have a family member or friend that may be suffering from the things I went through. And that's what really keeps me going."